


You Can Run, But Are You Fast Enough?

by GSAnonymous



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: All your faves die, Among Us AU, Any other character that appears in Hatchetfield, Assume every non-sexual tw, Blood and Gore, Gen, I didn't really tag many relationships but there's a lot, I'm Sorry, Psychological Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27732667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GSAnonymous/pseuds/GSAnonymous
Summary: The residents of the ship APTHIS-113 have one goal in mind: find a habitable planet to continue the human race. Little do they know there is an alien creature onboard determined to kill every last one of them. Their only chance to survive is to find it before it finds them.Hatchetfield Among Us AU, title from Nightmare Time by Jeff Blim.
Relationships: Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins, Xander Lee/John McNamara
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is a fairly dark fic where a lot of people die in potentially brutal ways. Please take precaution before you read if anything related to that bothers you.

_The creature’s face was glued to the window. There it was, watching the Earth fade into the distance. There was something strange, watching the planet drift away, so small and insignificant. So beautiful, yet so doomed. It shook its head, the Apthis-113 was finally cleared to complete its mission: find a habitable planet so the human race could continue. "Go forth and prosper!" The ship's motto and its only purpose from now on, continuing the human race. It hated that. Humankind was a screwed up mess and no amount of planets they inhabited would fix that._

__

__

_It pulled its head away from the window and began walking down the housing halls, metal clanking under its boots. It shook its head as it walked down the empty halls of the ship. It could hear the cheers of the happy residents in the cafeteria on the floor above. It was about to enter its chambers when it heard a chime from the tablet situated in its back-pocket._

_“You should come join us :).” The tablet read out loud. It smiled and gave a chuckle._

_“You know me, I’ll be there in a few.” It spoke back, placing the tablet back in its pocket. It gave one last look at the Earth slowly fading and made its way up the staircase._

_The three story cafeteria was filled to the brim with seemingly every resident. The cheering that arose from the open center was deafening. In the center was a stage with various residents giving speeches. It found a seat next to some friends on the lowest level. The person sitting next to it handed it a glass of champagne._

_"A toast! To our amazing crew!" Someone shouted, holding up a glass. A joyous cry filled the cafeteria. "And to ground control. God bless them while they can still hear us." There was a chuckle in response. The speaker took a sip from the glass and the audience copied the movement. The creature took a sip as well._

_It was smiling, ear to ear. It could barely hear any conversation over music blasting over loudspeakers or the thousands of residents filling every crevice of the cafeteria and surrounding hallways, but it was content with just being there._

_Suddenly, there was a pain that slashed through its skull. It almost collapsed to the ground. It clutched at its head, its teeth clenched down, no scream could escape its throat. It felt as if there were a drill in its head, tearing its brain apart bit by bit. As quickly as the pain came, it subsided. The creature was left with heaving breaths. A metallic taste entered its mouth. A hard loose object was drifting around its mouth, it spit it out into its hand. A tooth._

_"Are you okay?" A voice asked from beside it. They hadn’t seen the tooth sitting in the creature’s hand._

_Something was telling it to hide the tooth. It closed its fist. "Yeah… I think so." It murmured in agreement, slipping the fragment into a pocket._

_There was another flash of pain, not as painful as the last. Its hand shot to its head. The volume of the room seemed to be turned down, it could see mouths moving but it couldn’t hear anything._ Eliminate them. _The sound echoed through its skull. The volume of the room returned to normal._

_“What the hell?” It mumbled to itself. It looked around the room, the crowd continuing as normal._

_“Is something wrong?” The person next to it put a worried hand on its shoulder._

__

_"Did you hear that?" It asked._

__

_The person next to it raised a brow. "Hear what?"_

_The pain hit it once again. It felt as if there were an ice pick being stabbed through its skull. Its body refused to react. It couldn’t open its mouth, it couldn’t scream, it was trapped._ Say nothing. _The pain subsided._

_"I just thought I heard-" It began._

_Suddenly, unbearable pain struck it in waves. Its face and body refused to react, expressing nothing._ Say NOTHING. _The voice returned, more aggressive. The pain lessened and it could move once more._

_"Nevermind." It struggled out. The pain subsided. It breathed a sigh of relief. It chugged the rest of the champagne in its glass and smacked it back down on the table._

_Another flash struck its skull, a pin prick compared to the last wave. The volume dropped away again._ Eliminate them. _The voice in its head repeated once more. The room returned to normal, a dull ache remaining behind its eyes._

_"I think I'm done for the night. If anyone needs me I'll be in my quarters." It shot up from the table and flashed a half-hearted smile._

_“Sleep well!” A few well meaning voices said in response. It gave a wave to the group and began to turn to walk away._

_It didn’t get very far before it heard the shaky voice of a girl. "It has been awakened." The creature froze. It turned to the girl._

_"What was that Hannah?" Someone asked. Hannah sat quietly surveying the room, she made eye contact with the creature for a moment before continuing her search._

_The girl opened her mouth once more. "Cheater, imposter."_

_Everyone who heard the girl froze for just a moment. “What do you mean?” The creature asked._

_“Extinction.” The girl finished. The fifteen or so surrounding crew stood staring at the girl. Nobody spoke._

_The creature broke the silence. “I’m gonna… go.” It pointed awkwardly towards the exit. It quickly passed through the crowds and into an empty hallway. It threw its body on the floor and hugged its legs for a moment. It could hear its heart beating against its ribs, confusion added to the throbbing behind its eyes._

Eliminate them. _Its hand shook._ Eliminate them. _It uncurled its body._ Eliminate them. _It stood up._

_The fear left its eyes. Its gaze flicked to the singular light on the tech-deck, the security office. It shifted its focus to a nearby vent. "Go forth and prosper!" its ass, the creature had a different purpose now._


	2. Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul is nervous about embarking into space, Emma attempts to comfort him. Unfortunately, there's a turn of events that may further his fears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A second chapter? This soon? In this economy?! Yeah, I don't understand it either. Also, Paulkins fluff! Until it's not. Anyway, Paulkins fluff!

Paul sat in bed, tapping his wrists together while staring blankly at the pristine walls of his quarters. On the other side of the bed he saw Emma, her mouth opened slightly as her quiet breaths filled the room. He watched her shoulder rise and fall and for a moment his heart slowed. There was no mission, no endless void, just Emma and him. 

He glanced at the clock, the ship time read  _ 0600 _ . Granted, the Earthen time structure was almost useless given the fact that they were already hundreds of thousands of miles away from the planet. Oh. Oh god. Another nervous wave hit him. He turned back to his partner. 

" _ Emma _ ." He whispered. The woman showed no sign of response

"Emma." He spoke a little louder. The woman shifted and let out a groan.

"Emma." He shook her shoulder.

"What." She grumbled, her eyes still closed. 

"Can we go for a walk?" Paul tapped his wrists together. Emma rolled over and let out a slightly louder groan, her face now buried in her pillow.

"Paul, what time is it?" Emma’s muffled voice asked.

" _ 0600 _ ."

She plopped her head to the side to face him. "I love you Paul, but that is too damn early." 

Paul shifted his weight and looked down at his hands. He opened his mouth for a moment before quickly shutting it. Slowly, he stood up and began to change out of his sleep wear. A few moments later, he spotted Emma starting to stand.

"I thought it was 'too damn early.'" Paul stated as he strapped on a pair of boots. 

"Yeah, but I can't let you go by yourself, you'd get lonely or some shit." Emma copied him, throwing on a sweatshirt. "You can show me the scenic route to the science department. Maybe we'll grab breakfast on the way."

“Maybe?” He inquired.

“Yeah you’re right, you don’t have a choice. We’re getting breakfast.”

“Should I count this as a red flag?”

“If you consider that a red flag, I’ve done far worse.” He gave her a confused look. “I’m kidding, Paul. It’s not like I’ve killed someone.” She grinned at him and turned to the entrance, “You coming?”

Paul gave her a smile, pressing a button as the door slid open. “After you, madam.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Madam? You’re such a nerd.” She reciprocated with a grin as she walked through the archway. He followed close behind, the door sliding shut behind the pair.

Paul held out a hand. Emma grabbed a hold and they began to make their way down the hall. They walked mostly in silence past the housing units, their feet tapping quietly against the silvery metal floor. The ceiling above them projected the start of a sunrise, the reflective white walls and doors reflected the orange light onto the woman’s face. He watched her for a moment, the light defined her sharp features and made her deep brown eyes glow.

"What?" Emma asked after a moment.

"Oh, nothing." He smiled and looked away. 

At the end of the corridor was a window showcasing the increasing gap between the ship and Earth. His face slowly dropped along with his pace. Emma looked at him for a moment. 

She followed his gaze, realization entering her eyes as she spotted the window. “I know it’s scary. You’ll be okay Paul,  _ we’ll  _ be okay.” She stopped walking, grabbing Paul’s other hand and searching his eyes. “Okay?”

Paul nodded, “Okay.” 

The pair stood in still, watching each other’s eyes. He couldn’t quite read her expression but her face seemed gentle. For the second time that day, there was just them. Paul Matthews and Emma Perkins against the world.

“Okay.” Emma finally said with a nod. She let go of his left hand and began walking once more. “Earth was screwed anyway, maybe we’ll have a chance here.” 

“‘Go forth and prosper,’ right?” Paul assured himself.

Emma huffed. “That’s so dumb, who even thought of that? I mean, someone probably is a multi-billionaire because they sat on their ass and wrote down what,” she mumbled the phrase under her breath. “Four words?”

Paul swung the hand that was clutching Emma’s. “I could do that. Get rich sitting on my ass.”

“‘Don’t fucking die,’ I like the sound of that better.” 

“Our new motto is just ‘Don’t mess up, don’t mess up, don’t mess-” Paul cut himself off. He turned to Emma and grinned.

She let out a high pitched laugh and shook her head. “So fucking dumb.” 

He watched her for a moment longer. The wide grin on her face faded to a slight smirk. Her boot squeaked against the metal floor. Paul cleared his throat. “Did you know the guy who named Cars got a 300 thousand bonus? That’s like 1.5 million units for naming a movie about cars,” He paused and pondered, “Well...  _ Cars. _ ” 

“Isn’t that a musical? You don’t like those.” She rolled her eyes. “You literally remind me twice a week.”

“No…? Have you never seen  _ Cars _ ? I mean it’s an okay movie but it’s…” He searched for a word. “Famous?”

“Paul, that movie is like a hundred years old.”

“Nope, 67 years as of last month. Our parents probably grew up with it.”

She rolled her eyes, “Should I be concerned that you know that?” 

Paul pursed his lips and tilted his head. “Probably.”

They continued in silence. Emma leaned her head on his arm for a moment. The pair reached the recreation room. Paul began to walk towards housing section A-7 just as Emma lifted her head and pulled on his sleeve.

"I really don't want to deal with Ted today." Emma sighed, looking down the empty hall with disgust in her eyes. "Maybe we can just head straight to the cafe instead?" 

Paul nodded, heading towards the elevators situated on the wall opposing the set of hallways. He pressed his identity card against a sensor followed by his thumb. The device gave a chime. A pair of glowing numbers indicated an approaching cart. 

"Hey you going to the cafe?" A voice came out of nowhere. Paul and Emma both froze. 

"Yeah Ted, do you want to come with us?" Paul responded robotically, his body gone stiff as he stared directly at the elevator.

"Oh no no no. I have far more important things to do." Ted looked away, dramatically staring into the distance while chewing on nothing. 

He saw Emma roll her eyes as the elevator doors opened. The pair stepped through as Ted watched.

"Paul! Paul! Hold the door!" A different voice called from around the corner. Charlotte came bursting into view, awkwardly holding her skirt as her shoes clicked against the floor.

Emma stuck her arm against the closing door causing them to bounce open once more. 

Charlotte stumbled into the elevator with a heaving breath. "Thank you Paul.” Emma shot Paul a confused look. “I'm trying to find Sam, I was hoping that he might be in the cafeteria." Charlotte finished

"You know what, I’ll come with.” Ted stepped into the elevator. 

"What happened to those 'important things?'" Emma asked in a monotone voice.

"They can wait. Besides, two lovely broads like yourselves could use some company if you know what I mean." Ted winked.

"God  _ no _ ." Emma stepped away from the lanky man. She turned to Paul and mouthed  _ broads? _

The elevator doors closed, the only sound coming from the ship’s low hum. Through the glass walls they could see a massive courtyard in the middle of the ship as they rose higher and higher. Paul watched it for a moment.

Charlotte spoke up. "It's been quite the strange morning. Sam said he would be home a little late-"

"He didn't come home at all." Ted suddenly butt in. A horrified expression crossed Charlotte's face. "So I assume." He finished quickly. 

"I'm just concerned. Security is real dangerous." Charlotte sighed.

"I'm sure he'll turn up-" Emma began. 

The elevator came to an abrupt stop. Charlotte let out a frightened squeal.

_ "All residents please remain where you are. We are entering a temporary lockdown."  _ A PA system announced. The group looked at each other in stunned silence as the message repeated itself. 

"Is there a malfunction?" Charlotte finally asked.

"It's probably nothing major." Emma assured. "If there were something dangerous they would have us evacuate to a safer sector." 

The silence continued. Paul looked down at Emma, who was looking out the glass window. He brought the hand that wasn't being held by hers to her shoulder. She leaned into him. 

His gaze turned to Ted who hadn't said a word. Strange. He was just staring out the elevator window towards the tech-deck. Paul followed his gaze, several members of security were running around frantically.

"It looks like something's wrong with electrical." Paul commented.

"Oh god, what if oxygen went down?" Charlotte took a step towards the window. 

Emma shook her head. "I work with the oxygen system under Hidgens, I would have been notified if it went down." She removed herself from Paul's side. "Besides, the oxygen system is separate from anything located on the tech-deck. When I used to work there it was basically just home to communications, security, and power grid control. Life support systems are on their own separate circuits."

"But could the reactor be acting up then?" Paul pitched in.

"No, the reactor provides energy but isn't controlled from that location." Emma said, following their gazes back to the gathering of security. The entire room went quiet. 

The silence was broken once more with a chime. Charlotte took a glowing tablet out of her pocket. Her face went white, the tablet fell to the floor with a thud. She let out an ungodly noise and started sobbing nonsense. Ted picked up the tablet, his eyes going wide.

"What is it?" Paul leaned over the screen, Charlotte's chest heaving in labored breaths beside him.

Ted looked up. "Sam is dead." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! It only gets worse from here!


	3. The Night Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The imposter has a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've now realized how bad at summaries I am. I'm going to put a quick TW before anybody reads: there's quite a bit of death in this chapter.

_ It sat for a moment, watching. The slits of the vent obstructed the view of the room but it could still clearly see its target sitting in front of a series of monitors: Sam. The man was completely spaced out, occasionally swigging from a flask situated on the desk next to him. He was completely unaware of the company watching him from the vent situated on the opposing wall.  _

_ It pondered for a moment, the vent opening would make noise. If he heard it open, he would see it. If he saw it, he would call for backup or draw a weapon before it could get to him. God, it needed a better plan. It scrunched its face for a moment and leaned against the metallic wall. Maybe if it could get his attention... _

_ It tapped its fingers against the vent. Below, the singular officer perked his head. For a moment, the creature sat with a heavy heart. Sure, Sam was an asshole, but did he deserve to die? It thought about the head-splitting pain. It let out a sigh, Sam had to go. It finally drummed its fingers against the metal. The officer didn’t even budge this time around.  _

_ It shifted its weight, eyes still trained on the man. It debated whether it should tap again. The creature sat still, eyes squinting as it went through its options. It smacked its palm against the vent, the loud noise finally caused the man to jump. _

_ "What the hell?" Sam looked around. It slammed its hand against the vent once more. He stood up and approached cautiously. The creature slunk back into the darkness, watching the officer slowly pull out a taser. He seemed unsure of the sound’s source. _

_ The man was still too far, it watched in frustration. It smacked its palm against the vent once more. _

_ "Who's there?" He called. Finally, he was standing directly in front of the vent. _

_ A smile creeped across the creature's face. The apprehensive feeling disappeared, it had its prey exactly where it wanted. Fuck morality, fuck Sam. The officer grabbed a flashlight with his opposing hand and flicked it on. The light hit the imposter's eye with an inhuman glare. _

_ "Hey Sammy-Sam." _

_ "What the f-" It slammed the vent open, tackling Sam. "SHIT!"  _

_ The pair went crashing onto the ground, the taser flying out of Sam’s hand and to the other side of the room. His mouth opened to scream, but the creature seized his throat. He let out a choked cry. Sam grabbed at the imposter's face with one hand while attempting to free himself from the creature's grip with the other. The man finally got a grip on the creature's face, and began searching. The imposter let out a yelp as the man found its eye socket. Its grip loosened from Sam's throat as he attempted to gouge out its eye.  _

_ The man took the opportunity and rolled the pair over situating himself on top. The imposter locked the arm still holding his throat in an attempt to keep the man away, but the distance simply wasn't far enough. Sam grabbed the imposter's throat in retaliation and squeezed. Its eyes widened as it let out a choked sound. The creature's body went limp, it let go of the man’s throat, its arm falling to the ground. The man let go, and leaned away.  _

_ The imposter grinned, a look of surprise crossing the man's face. It dug its knee into the man's crotch causing him to collapse. The pair flipped over, the imposter now pinning Sam to the ground. _

_ The man let out a cry, his face turning red. It cocked its head and closed the man's mouth with it's free hand. "Shh." He let out a faint scream. "Shut up, Sam. I'm warning you."  _

_ He let out a series of muffled noises.  _

_ "Yeah yeah, save it for someone who cares." It shook its head. It looked around for something to smack over his head. Or maybe even stab him with. Either would work perfectly fine at this point.  _

_ Sam beat the creature to it, a knife slipped its way out of his utility belt and into its side. It let out a shout in pain and instinctively squeezed its hand.  _

_ Crack. _

_ Sam's eyes widened, he let go of the knife. His hand dropped to the ground. The creature apprehensively removed its hand. A massive bruise covered his neck. On closer inspection, the man’s throat had completely collapsed.  _

_ The man lay wheezing as the creature stood up, grunting as the knife dug into its abdomen.  _

_ Its medical knowledge was telling it to just leave the knife, but some instinct forced it to take it out. It slowly slid the blade out, clenching its teeth in a silent scream. It dropped the knife, letting it fall to the floor. Blood oozed out of the wound. It pressed a hand against the hole, stumbling backwards to the wall behind it. _

_ Suddenly, there was movement below its palm. The muscles seemed to close the gap in. Slowly, the skin weaved itself back together. The creature watched with wide eyes.  _

_ "Holy shit." It whispered to itself.  _

_ Its attention turned back to the man laying on the floor. His breathes were shallow and wheezy. A pang ran through the creature's chest. Something about watching the man struggling to live… oh god. What had it done?  _

_ "I'm sorry, Sam. I really am." It whispered as it crouched down over his face, watching him struggle. It grasped the two sides of his head, and gave a hard twist. A snap filled the room. _

_ The imposter stood up, looking at the lifeless eyes of the officer. It shook its head and turned to the monitor. It rushed over to the chair and grabbed the mouse.  _

_ "Come on…" It desperately began to delete footage.  _

_ The door slid open behind it. It froze.  _

_ "Hey Sam, do you wanna switch out-" A voice filled the room. The creature whipped around to see another security officer with long hair. The officer opened its mouth, beginning to form a word.  _

_ The imposter picked up the taser from the floor and fired at the officer. They collapsed onto the floor, the imposter ran over and smashed its foot into the stranger's head.  _

_ There was a loud crack, then blood.  _

_ "Fuck," The imposter let out an exasperated groan looking between the two bodies. Its hands flew up to its head. It began to pace between the two.  _

_ It didn't even have time to fully process the situation when a third officer came through the door. _

_ "Doug?" He froze, staring at the dead bodies.  _

_ "I’m sorry?” It tried. The man’s rage-filled eyes rose to the imposter. The creature didn’t bother giving him a chance. It lunged at the man, he dodged out of the way. _

_ "I'm going to fucking kill you!" The officer swung for its head, it ducked as his fist slammed into the door’s control panel. It closed with a slam. _

_ "Yeah, I'm not sure if that's entirely possible anymore. Sorry bud." The imposter shoved its fist into the man's chest and pushed. The officer went flying across the room.  _

_ He fell into the monitors with a loud crash, breaking them.  _

_ “I needed those!” The creature shouted. _

_ The officer let out a groan while he rolled over to his side. He crashed into a set of wires sending a flash of sparks through the room. His mouth opened to a silent scream as his body began to convulse. _

_ The imposter reached out, it paused with its hand hovering over a spasming leg. It took a step back, dropping its hand back to its side. He was undoubtedly dead by this point. _

_ It took a step back and looked around the room. Sam’s throat was collapsed, blood was seeping from Doug’s crushed skull, and the officer it didn’t know was still convulsing with electricity. Three bodies- no. Three people it had killed. It stumbled against the wall.  _

_ A flash of pain tore through its skull.  _ Eliminate them. 

_ “I did! I fucking did! What more do you fucking want!” It waved its arms wildly towards the bodies.  _

Eliminate them.  _ The voice simply repeated. _

_ “What, is that the only thing you know how to fucking say?” Silence. It looked back at the bodies again.  _

_ It didn’t have a moment to even begin to attempt to move them when it heard voices down the hall. More voices than it could handle. _

_ “Shit shit shit,” It grabbed Sam’s arm and started to drag it towards the vent. _

You don’t have time to move them. Go.  _ The voice snapped seemingly out of nowhere. It paused, shocked. _

_ The imposter dragged a chair over to the wall, climbed on and grabbed the ledge of the vent. It knocked the chair away and pulled itself up, closing the hatch behind it. The creature began to crawl quickly away. A minute passed, there was no scream. They hadn’t found the bodies yet. It turned around to go back.  _

What the hell are you doing?  _ The voice queried. It froze. _

_ “Oh so now you’re going to have a conversation with me.” There was no response. “Answer me you fucking-” _

Shut up. Just shut up. They’re going to hear you.  _ The creature closed its mouth. It sat for a moment with its lips pursed. _

_ ‘I’m done with this elimination bullshit.’ It thought. The voice didn’t respond.  _

_ Suddenly its hand slammed into the wall.  _ If you don’t I will. I like to watch things die slowly.  _ The voice paused.  _ It’s your choice. You complete your mission, or you watch me do it. 

_ The two went silent. The creature simply just nodded and continued forwards. Eventually, it reached the vent above the bathroom in its quarters. It opened the hatch and dropped through. It caught its eyes in the mirror. They were the same as they always had been. Nothing had changed, it was still… well… it. It shook its head and opened the bathroom door and walked to the empty bedroom. _

_ It crawled into its bed and stared at the ceiling. It rolled onto its side, and squeezed its eyes shut.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rip Sam, Doug, and Rob Cop. Also the imposter is Tanya Freemont confirmed. (Half of the imposter's dialogue were Tanya lines before I decided it was too much.) Thanks for reading!


	4. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul, Emma, and Ted are suspects in the recent murders of several security officers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I had a couple of family emergencies that prevented me from writing but I will be updating this fic as I finish the chapters!
> 
> I wrote and finished this chapter fairly quickly, so please excuse any errors.

Ten hours. That’s how long Paul, Emma, and Ted were trapped in the holding cell together. Charlotte was escorted out within the first fifteen minutes for one reason or another. Paul Emma had begun to berate the guard only for the windowless cell door to slide shut in their faces. Emma kicked the door and collapsed against the empty, dark steel wall. Paul eventually retreated to the singular bench attached to the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Now, Paul still sat on the bench while Emma paced around the barren cell, one hand tapping her thigh and the other clutching to the back of her neck as she stared blankly at her feet. Ted had fallen asleep in a little spot in between the wall and a toilet situated in the corner of the room. He had fallen asleep on Paul’s shoulder at first, but Paul refused to be anyone’s pillow. Well, he’d let Emma but that was besides the point.

“This is ridiculous.” Emma suddenly lashed out causing Paul to jump. “This is…” She paused and furrowed her brows for a second. “Yeah this is a human right violation, they can’t hold us here without telling us what we did.” She stopped pacing and stared at Paul. Ted let out a quiet snore in response.

“Technically they can. We signed a contract when we decided we’d work on the ship.” Emma furrowed her brow as Paul spoke. “If they think we are a danger to the ship, they can do whatever they want to us.”

Emma let out a groan and walked over to Paul. “You are far from a danger to the ship- no offense.” She took a seat next to him. 

He watched her glance around the room. There was something in her eyes as they scanned the room, it took him a moment to register the panic hidden behind the layers of annoyance. He reached for her hand and gave a squeeze. She squeezed back, her gaze still trained on the door as she leaned her head into his shoulder. 

“We’ll be okay. Neither of us were near security. They have footage of us walking together, there’s no way they can blame us.” He shook his head. “There’s no way they can blame us.” He repeated to himself.

Emma went quiet. 

A minute hadn’t even passed when Emma shot up, Paul looked at her confused. His head whipped to the door as they opened with a hiss, waking Ted up. Paul slowly stood up as a blond man wearing a beret and military attire appeared in the doorway. The man stopped in a wide stance with his hands behind his back.

“Good afternoon, I apologize for the wait. We had a fair few high priority interviews to go through.” He nodded, swinging his arms in front of him. A tablet was grasped in his right hand. “My name is General John McNamara, I work in the command deck. You three are suspects in a recent case and you will be interviewed regarding your whereabouts last night.”

“Emma and I were together all night, you can see it on the security footage.” Paul blurted out.

Beside him, Ted rolled his eyes. “Of course you were. If you ever see Emma walk into a room you bet your ass Paul is right behind her like a lost puppy.”

“People died and you choose  _ now  _ to make fun of Paul?” Emma glared at the lanky man still sitting against the wall. 

“I mean if I have the opportunity-”

The General cleared his throat. “If I could have your attention…” Emma whipped her head around and opened her mouth the General tilted his head in a challenge. The small woman narrowed her eyes and sat back against the wall. “Unfortunately some systems were tampered with and we lost all footage pertaining to the events of last night.” MacNamara finished.

“Wait so are the cameras working now?” Ted asked, fidgeting with some small white object in between his pointer finger and his thumb.

The General narrowed his eyes for a moment. “Unfortunately that information is confidential.” He turned to Paul. “ Mr. Matthews, would you mind following me?” 

Paul gave an apprehensive nod. “Sure.” The General stepped back from the doorway revealing a dark man in sunglasses and a red-headed woman.

“Ms. Perkins and Mr. Spankofski, Lee and Schaffer will escort you accordingly.” The man and woman in the doorway gave a nod as the General spoke their names. 

McNamara gestured for Paul to follow him. He let go of Emma’s hand and slowly got off the bench and walked towards the doorway. MacNamara turned and began walking down the hallway. Together, they walked down the thin corredor. Paul glanced back at Emma, who was now being led in the opposite direction by… Lee? The two made eye contact for just a moment before Paul and the General rounded the corner. 

“Ms. Perkins will be fine. Xander is quite a people person, he’ll go easy on her.” Paul turned his head to see MacNamara watching him.

Paul gave a humorless laugh. “Emma? No, I’m more worried for Xander.”

McNamara returned Paul’s laugh as they continued down the hall, surrounded by the eerie glow of the lights placed along the sides of the wall. They passed countless steel doors identical to the cell Paul had been kept in. 

Eventually they exited the labyrinth of cells and into a new hallway. The General stopped at a door and pressed his card against the scanner, followed by placing his thumb on a small pad below. The door slid open. Paul walked through with McNamara close behind. He heard the door hiss shut behind him.

“Take a seat.” The General gestured to the table sitting in the middle of the room, a seat was placed on the opposite side of a mirror running the length of the wall. Paul walked over to the chair and slid it out from under the table, the squeal of metal on metal piercing his ears. He cringed as he took a seat. "Now Paul, I'm familiar with you even if you aren’t familiar with me. To put it simply, I don’t believe you could have done this." He began to type something out on his tablet. 

Paul looked past the General’s head and at the mirror. He presumed it was two-way based on its location, but it was odd seeing one considering the increase in recording technology. Unless… the cameras were still down. His stomach dropped, there was no way to catch the killer if they struck again. He pushed the feeling aside. "If you didn’t believe I did it then why are you interrogating me?" 

McNamara paused what he was doing and set the tablet down, fishing a small, black, rectangular device out of his pocket. “Simple, procedure.” 

“Procedure?”

"Yes.” He clicked the device and a red dot appeared on the edge. Paul finally recognized it as an audio recorder. MacNamara placed the recorder on the table and began to speak as he paced the room. “P-M-G-I-T-0-0-3-4-8, Paul Matthews. The time is 18:56, this is General John McNamara. My ID number is J-M-0-C-C-1-1-5-3-3.” He stopped in front of the table. “Now Paul we're going to keep this nice and brief, where were you last night?" 

Paul could feel the General’s gaze bearing into him. "I was celebrating on the lower level of the cafeteria. Emma and I left before the party was over."

McNamara nodded and looked into his tablet. Paul didn’t even realize how tense he was until his shoulders relaxed. "I see. Did you and Ms. Perkins leave together?" He continued to pace. 

"I followed Emma out." Paul said as he tapped his wrists together. 

"So you were together." MacNamara once again walked over to the table and sat on the edge. 

Paul paused for a moment and furrowed his brows. "Yes."

MacNamara looked up and studied Paul. His gaze bore into Paul’s head. “I’m inclined to believe that is a lie, Mr. Matthews.”

Paul froze, going through the events of the party in his head. He remembered drinking a glass of champagne. He also remembered Tom getting his hands on a couple bottles of whiskey. Paul only had a couple glasses, but everything was a blur after that. “I mean I-I was pretty drunk-"

"You were impaired?" MacNamara cut in.

"Well yeah. Emma convinced me to do some weird drinking game despite my better judgement." 

MacNamara nodded. "So Emma was impaired as well?"

Paul hesitated, not wanting to put suspicion on Emma. "She can surprisingly handle a lot more than me but…” MacNamara continued staring at him. “Yeah."

"Was there anyone with you who was not impaired?" The bearded man stood up and walked over to the two-way mirror, seemingly looking through to the other side. 

"Hannah and Tim. Everybody else had at least a glass of champagne."

MacNamara turned to pace once more. "I see. Do you mind telling me who accompanied you last night?”

Paul once again thought back to the table, going through each of their laughing faces. “Ted, Charlotte, Emma, Tom Houston, Becky Barnes, Lex and Hannah Foster, Ethan Green, and Bill Woodward.” He paused, going back through the night. “Alice Woodward and her girlfriend were there at the end and Henry Hidgens visited Emma for a couple minutes earlier in the evening.” 

“Did anybody accompanying you exhibit any strange behavior?"

Paul’s mind immediately went to the events just before everyone at the table had dispersed. "Hannah said some cryptic things but she does that on occasion."

That immediately caught the General’s attention. "What specifically did she say?"

Paul watched as the man made his way to the table. "I don't really remember. I think she said 'Cheater, Imposter, Extinction." 

The General stood in silence for a moment. He pulled out his tablet and began to type something. Paul continued to tap his wrists together.

"Your story checks out. You're free to go. I will escort you out." McNamara gestured for Paul to stand up as he walked over to the door, opening it. 

Paul stumbled out of his seat and exited the room. He could vaguely hear voices through the glass as he passed it.

McNamara was hardly paying attention as Paul trailed behind him, rather his eyes were trained on what he was typing into his tablet. The pair made their way down a different series of corridors, the sound of their boots clinking against the walls. 

Eventually the pair reached an elevator. 

"This elevator is the only way on and off this floor. You don't have authority to access this route so I am going to be accompanying you to your deck." McNamara stated whilst scanning his ID.

Paul watched as the steel doors opened at MacNamara’s touch. "Will Emma be coming with us?" He asked as the man stepped into the elevator.

He shook his head. "Ms. Perkins will be out shortly, but no. She will not be accompanying us." Paul pursed his lips and nodded as he stepped through the threshold behind him. 

The elevator played a quiet tune as the pair ascended. This elevator was much different than the others found throughout the ship, they were completely encased in steel rather than the glass elevators of the courtyard or the colorful murals found in civilian areas. Paul fidgeted with his sleeve collars as some woman’s voice rang out over a set of speakers.. "So… I've never seen you around the ship before.” Paul finally said.

MacNamara had his eyes still buried in his tablet. "I work in the command center, most of my time is spent within my occupation. The rest is confidential."

Paul caught a glimpse of the screen, on it was a series of dialogue. He couldn’t make it out before the man turned slightly. "Is everything confidential?" He mumbled vaguely to himself.

"That's confidential." The General responded with a slight smirk on his face. Paul shifted his weight and stared at the wall. The woman’s voice filled the box once again filling the silence. McNamara lifted his face and looked at him. "That was a joke, Paul. " 

"Oh,” Heat rose to Paul’s cheeks as he pulled on his sleeve. “Haha…" He said through his teeth as he gave the man a nervous grin. The elevator slowed to a stop before he could say anything else. The doors slid open once again.

MacNamara turned to Paul and gestured to the exit. "Here's where we depart, Mr. Matthews. Thank you for your cooperation, hopefully this will never have to happen again." He gave a quick salute as Paul stepped out. He turned to face the man once more but the door had already slid shut, leaving him alone. 

Paul looked around, he was just next to the admin offices. The halls were dead, the pristine white corridors left devoid of life. 

He was just about to begin walking back to his quarters when he heard a voice. 

"Paul!" He turned to see Emma jogging towards him. Her hair had fallen out of her already messy up-do and was now flowing in front of her face as she made her way down the hallway.

Paul smiled as she slowed her pace to a walk. "Good to see you didn't chew out a commanding officer." He teased as he pulled the shorter woman into a hug.

"Oh I did." She let go and returned his smile. “I’m glad they didn’t convict you for murder.” She said as she backed away.

“I’m glad you’d have missed me if I was.” Paul began to walk away from the elevator, holding out his hand towards her. 

Emma bit her lip and gave a shit-eating grin as she grasped his hand. “Oh I never said I’d  _ miss _ you, I would just be upset that I wouldn’t have somebody to do my laundry anymore.” 

Paul rolled his eyes. A moment passed, the full weight of the situation landing on him. Sure, he and Sam weren’t close, but Paul  _ knew  _ him. In fact, Paul had known Sam since he boarded the ship five years ago. He never particularly got along with the officer, but he was Charlotte’s husband. He was already devastated the last time Paul had seen her, he couldn’t even imagine how she was after being interrogated. “I feel like we shouldn’t be joking around when people were murdered.”

Emma’s face dropped as soon as the words exited his mouth. Her grip loosened on his hand. “You’re right.” She whispered, her eyes blankly fixed on the hallway in front of her. “Sorry.” Her tanned skin had gone pale.

Paul watched her for a second before finally speaking up. “Let’s just go home okay? This will all play out. We’ll be okay, I promise.”

She met his gaze. “But what if something happens to you? I don’t know what-”

“Hey where is this coming from? You were literally telling me everything would be okay this morning.” Paul said, giving her a quizzical look. 

She continued her vacant stare. “I just have a bad feeling, Paul. Like this is just the beginning of something bigger.” She met his eyes and shook her head. “It’s stupid. I’m just being nihilistic.”

Paul shot her a concerned look. “Emma, your concerns aren’t stupid.” He paused for a moment, his lips going taut as he thought of what to say. “Someone told me this morning that even though this situation is scary that you’ll be okay.” He searched her dark eyes for a moment. “We’ll be okay, okay?”

Her face was unreadable for a moment. “Okay.” Her eyes grew soft. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you Paul.” She assured, seemingly more to herself than to him. 

They walked the rest of the way home in silence, the weight of the day slowly fading away as they wandered down the halls together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! I will be posting chapters as soon as their finished, so expect two to seven days in between chapters. I promise next chapter is from some new character's perspectives.


	5. In the Grove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lex and Hannah hang out in the ship's biodome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, I use a fun literary technique called: "A Shit-ton of exposition." Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! Quick TW for blood and injuries.

Lex Foster had seen many things throughout her life. Most prominent was her year spent in juvie with Ethan Green after being caught selling her mother’s pills. Granted, it was not fully her fault, her mother had made her do it The pair had quickly been pardoned soon after. Her mother ended up losing custody of a then fifteen-year-old Lex and a ten-year-old Hannah, passed between homes before they fell into the hands of Tom Houston. The sisters moved in with him and his wife Jane Perkins for a month before her eventual death. 

Not even a year later, the group had moved onto APTHIS-113, the last of a one hundred and thirteen starships leaving to explore potentially habitable planets. Lex had also technically died for just a moment after being caught in the void of space, permanently disqualifying her from being cryogenically frozen during the trip and preventing her from working for the next three months. As of two days ago, they were quite literally being launched into the same void Lex had accidentally entered seven months ago.

Quite frankly, Lex couldn’t fully wrap her mind around the journey. She knew that once they passed the moon in about a week, they would begin their ten year journey to the edge of their solar system. After that, they’d begin a three thousand year journey to Kepler-1638b. They were the second ship to be sent to that specific planet, the first having been sent in the year 2029.

Out of all the events she had imagined her first day leaving Earth’s orbit entailed, it wasn’t waiting in a prison cell with her boyfriend and her sister for hours on end. Not the wildest experience she’s ever had, but certainly unsuspected.

But it was all over now. She had been questioned and set free, not even entirely sure of why she was interrogated in the first place. 

Now walked with her younger sister within the biodome located in the center of the ship, a backpack swung over her shoulder. It was the last bit of Earth she’d see well… for the rest of her life. She and her family had been sent to die amongst the stars, alone and unable to see their true impact on humanity.

Lex shook her head as she strolled through their artificial forest, beside her Hannah was observing the trees in silence. Ethan usually would accompany the pair on their midday walks, but he was currently occupied working on the lower engines with his father. So the sisters simply journeyed through the biodome in silence.

Eventually the sisters reached the center of the wooded area: a large paper birch transplanted from a tiny town in Michigan called Hatchetfield which was ironically the home to a large number of residents upon the ship, Lex included. It was by far the largest tree on the ship- maybe about twenty feet- small compared to the eight story tall biodome and the trees found in the forests at home. The tree was just slightly too large to hug, making it perfect to sit against. Lex leaned against the trunk of the tree, Hannah joining her as she sat on her ground. The girls had been going there since they had first arrived, mostly because Hannah seemed to enjoy the quiet. Today, Hannah sat picking at a leaf, running her fingers up and down its veins. 

It was quiet today but considering that only a fifth of the ship’s two thousand passengers weren’t in a cryogenic stasis, the silence wasn’t entirely uncommon. Occasionally they’d see a couple going for a stroll or biologists surveying the plant life, but otherwise it was always peaceful. Nothing but the gentle hum of the ship and the whistling of a few species of bird brought on the ship. 

Lex took a cigarette pack out of her pocket, one of seven packs she’d smuggled through security from Earth. She glanced over at Hannah who had now pulled a book out of her backpack and had begun reading. She pulled out a lighter and held it to the end of a cigarette. It caught as she took a deep breath in, inhaling the smoke and letting it pour out of her nostrils.

“Hey you two,” A voice called out causing Lex to jump. She looked up to see Emma jogging towards them. She slowed down to a walk, her eyes landing on the cigarette Lex was holding in between her index and middle finger. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be doing that anymore.” Emma raised an eyebrow.

“Hey you smoked.” Lex pointed out.

Emma gave a massive eye roll. “First, I  _ smoked _ . As much as I would love to grow some shit on the ship, Hidgens would immediately be on my ass. Second, I’m not the one who got caught in an open airlock.”

Lex shuddered at the memory, or really the lack of it. She certainly remembered the weeks spent recovering in the medbay. “That was almost a year ago.” Lex retorted.

“Yeah, but it still happened.” Emma concluded. The two stood, staring at each other for a moment. Lex chucked the cigarette on the ground, snuffing it out with her foot before picking it up and placing it in her pocket to throw out later. Emma cleared her throat. “So… I haven’t seen you guys hang out here in awhile.”

“Just haven’t had a reason.” Lex shrugged.

“I mean you don’t really need a reason. I mean shit, I spent ten years in the woods back on Earth.” Emma said with a bittersweet grin. “I spent more money than I’d like to admit hiking in Guatemala.”

“Why the hell would you spend money to live in the woods?” Lex cocked an eyebrow.

Emma paused. She looked at her tablet then back up at Lex. She repeated this motion: tablet, Lex, tablet, Lex, tablet. Finally, she shot a finger gun with her free hand. “I gotta go find some bees or else Hidgens is going to can me.” She said waving her tablet as she began to walk backwards. 

Lex shot her a grin. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“I don’t have to answer anything you ask, you’re like ten.” Emma simply shrugged in response.

“I’m legally an adult!”

“You’re nineteen, you’re a child. I don’t have to shit that children say.” Emma began to turn away from the teen as she continued walking.

“Yeah but it’s a pretty easy question.” Lex countered. 

“I’m leaving now!” The small woman called as she disappeared around a cluster of cypress trees, not even turning her head to face Lex. 

“Asshole!” Lex called back, rolling her eyes. She looked down at Hannah. The girl still had her eyes glued to the pages of her book but there was a look of amusement now plastered on her face.

Lex gave her sister a smirk. “Am I funny to you?” She teased.

“No.” Hannah said with a grin, her eyes lifting to look towards Lex. 

She sat down next to her younger sister, leaning her head against the trunk with a wide smile still across her face. “What? She didn’t answer my question.” 

Hannah’s grin faded as she appeared to listen to something. “Jane.” She finally spoke, an unreadable emotion hidden behind her eyes.

Lex stopped at the name, the lighthearted smile on her face completely dropping away. She remembered Jane Perkins vividly, her laugh and wide smile, her curly hair and wide eyes. The two sisters looked nothing alike and quite frankly  _ were _ nothing alike. Lex hadn’t personally known Jane well, she was one of the first chosen to join the ranks of the ship as a psychiatrist and spent most of her time doing her work. Even after Tom had taken custody of Lex and Hannah, between her job and Jane’s, they rarely saw each other. 

She didn’t really remember the day Jane had died, she just remembered the aftermath. She remembered the trip down to Earth, the casket being lowered in the ground, Tim sobbing, a strange woman standing on the outskirts of the funeral. Later, she learned that woman to be Emma. 

Lex didn’t know what to do with Hannah’s sentiment. She was under the impression that the sisters were close when they were younger. Then again, Emma never really talked about her childhood and Jane was really only discussed between the adults. 

The two sat against the tree, Lex resting her eyes and Hannah reading her book, for about an hour. Eventually, Lex took a tablet out of her pocket, checking the time. She sighed and stood up. “C’mon Banana, Ethan’s gonna be getting out of work soon.”

“M’kay,” Hannah said, bouncing to her feet. She grabbed onto Lex’s arm and the pair began to walk down the gravel paths of the biodome. The sound of Lex’s steps and Hannah’s giddy hops joined the quiet wildlife around them. 

They had barely exited the grove when Hannah stopped in her tracks. “Webby says it’s dangerous over there.”

“What?” Lex cocked her head. She followed Hannah’s gaze. She was looking towards the path the pair usually trekked to get to their little corner of the biodome. “What do you mean?”

Hannah continued staring. “Not for us, but dangerous.” A chill went down Lex’s spine. For the past month, Hannah had been talking about her new imaginary friend, Webby. Ever since, Hannah had been spouting messages about anything and everything. 

Lex stood watching her younger sister. “Does…” She hesitated. “Does Webby say anything else?”

Hannah shook her head. “Webby says bad things will happen to her if she tells me anything else.” 

“Okay, we’ll just go down another path-”

Hannah quickly pulled her hand out of Lex’s. “We can’t go over there.”

Lex took a deep breath and held it for a couple of seconds. She ran her hand through her hair as she tried to think of a way to comfort her younger sister. “Look Banana, there’s only one exit that’s open right now. We have to go over there if we want to leave.” Hannah shook her head again.

Lex bit her bottom lip and shifted her weight, thinking. “I’m going to go check out the danger, ok? You stay here and I’ll come back.” Hannah’s eyes grew wide. “You said it wasn’t dangerous for us, I’ll be okay.” The two stood, staring at each other. Somewhere nearby, a bird called out. Hannah eventually nodded, Lex gave her a smile. “I’ll be right back, okay Han?”

She began her way down the path, gravel crunching beneath her feet. Her eyes looked up at the trees growing towards the ceiling, most were barely higher than ten feet. For a moment, she wondered what biodomes on other ships looked like. She knew 113 was meant to emulate the north-eastern American fauna-

Lex’s thoughts ended abruptly as a metallic smell hit her nose. She froze midstep, unease filling the pit of her stomach. Every instinct was telling her something was profoundly wrong and that she should stay away, but there was something itching in the back of her mind telling her to investigate. 

Despite her common sense, she slowly rounded the corner. Red. All she saw was crimson red spilled out against the gravel. It was as if someone had splattered a paint bucket across the gravel path. 

Her eyes grew in horror, her heart beginning to race in her chest. Her fingers and toes felt numb as she stared at the sight in the middle of the path. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t scream, she couldn’t run for help.

Her gaze left the pool and followed a trail to the side of the path. She spotted a black, high-heeled boot sticking haphazardly out of the bushes. 

“Hello?!” She called to the boot, hoping for a response despite the feeling buried in her gut. Lex desperately began to push bushes out of the way. She swatted away one final branch, revealing the lifeless eyes of Linda Monroe, a hole burrowed straight through her forehead.

Her heart stopped. The sounds of the biodome faded away. She couldn’t even hear the scream leave her mouth as she stumbled away, tripping over Linda’s boot and onto the gravel path behind her.

She felt the gravel dig into her hands, scratching them raw as someone’s hand reached out to her shoulder. She looked up to see Emma holding onto her shoulder, her eyes wide in horror. Behind the pair was Henry Hidgens and her little sister Hannah, both staring at the boot sticking out of the bushes.

They all looked on in shocked silence. Finally, Emma spoke up.

“Holy shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading!


	6. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander tries to put together the pieces of the murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick tw for blood, death and injury. Lyn Cody is the name I gave the Secretary of State since she doesn't canonically have a name.

Xander could not describe the feeling that went through his chest when he saw the bodies of the security officers. Granted, Xander had seen worse in his years of field deployment, but the difference now was there was no evidence in terms of weapon use. It was the idea that one civilian managed to take down three armed officers bare-handed and escaped with almost no evidence against them that haunted him. There were no fingerprints on the scene, no hairs or other biological evidence. Hell there was nothing in the door logs that even indicated that someone had entered. 

Not only had the killer left no evidence, they managed to completely disable the ship’s cameras. It didn’t help that the physical hardware system that archived footage was completely destroyed, but the digital system that would have allowed them to watch live footage of the ship was completely crashed. 

The only information they were really able to collect was the hypothetical situation that caused the murders. The killer seemed to be targeting Sam. Rob and Doug were just simply caught in the crossfire. All theories pointed to this murder being an independent event, that was until the body of Linda Monroe was discovered in the biodome. 

The death of Linda Monroe was much more clean: she was impaled through her forehead directly through her skull. What made the situation more confusing was the weapon used on the victim. Now he crouched over her body, inspecting the injury. Forensics had determined that it was some sort of incredibly sharp rod approximately a half inch at its widest section. The problem arose when forensics had also determined that this rod seemed to have been propelled forwards by hydraulics. To Xander’s knowledge, there was nothing aboard the ship that fit that description. It only added to the absurd mystery murders. Except they weren’t dealing with a murderer anymore, they were trapped in a cage with an untraceable serial killer. 

“What are you thinking, Lee?” He heard a voice from behind him. He turned to see his husband, John MacNamara. The man stood with his arms crossed, his gaze trained on the body still laying in the bushes in front of them. 

Xander backed away from the body and stood by John’s side. “If I’m being honest? I think we’re in deep shit. The cameras are down for two more days minimum and we have a killer on the loose.” He looked up at his partner’s face.

John nodded and pursed his lips. “And we still have no leads?”

He shook his head. “The four civilians in the area have confirmed alibis. Lex and Hannah Foster were confirmed innocent by Emma Perkins’ account. In turn, Henry Hidgens and Emma Perkins can both be found using the door at the estimated time of murder.”

John gave a dissatisfied grunt. “It must have one of them, they’re the only crewmates present at the time of the murder.”

“But all evidence provided shows the four of them as innocent.” Xander paused. “The killer also bypassed the door system in the security deck.”

Xander once again approached the body. The back of her white sweater had been completely stained red and now sported several tears from the bushes. It was odd, the killer in both situations had left the body in fairly obvious locations. The prospect that they might even be overestimating the killer crossed his mind. He pursed his lips looking at the blood trail from the middle of the path. He noticed a small sliver of blood staining Linda’s armpit, likely the handhold the killer had used to move the body. He made a mental note to test the out-of-place blood in the labs later.

He stepped back to John’s side, thinking about what he had said about the current suspects. “The killer was smart enough to completely crash the security systems and leave no trail to either kills. They wouldn’t have made it so obvious to be narrowed down to one of four people.” 

“Unless that’s what they want us to think.” John countered.

“Unless that’s what they want us to think.” Xander repeated to himself. “Until we have a lead, we need to keep a close eye on the four suspects. Also, check their hands for wounds. It looks like the killer may have cut themselves trying to move the body.”

John nodded and cleared his throat. The idle security posted around the pair perked up. “Civilians Hannah Foster, Lex Foster, Emma Perkins, and Henry Hidgens are not to leave observation at any point. Is that understood?”

Xander’s ears were met with a chorus of ‘Yes Sir!’ He turned to John again. 

The pair retreated out of the biodome, leaving the rest of the investigation to the forensics team. 

\---

Xander and John now found themselves in the command deck conference room. It was relatively small, consisting of a long oval table and a series of screens mounted on walls. Xander was seated facing the door, John was standing behind him. On the opposite side of the table was Lyn Cody, the director of operations on the ship. Beside her at the head of the table sat Bob Morris, the appointed captain of the ship. Leaning against the wall was Wallace McNeill, head of weapons. Projected over the table was Howard Goodman, president of the APTHIS project. 

“Sir, it was four murders in less than twenty-four hours, I think the best course of action at this point would be using the moon to sling-shot back to Earth.” John said, pacing around the sides of the table. 

“You just set out this week and you already want to turn back around.” Howard’s tone implied that it was more of a statement than a question. 

“We are dealing with a potential serial killer. It poses danger to the mission.” John retorted. “As the director of security on this ship, it’s my job to look out for the safety of the passengers alongside the safety of the mission. If it’s anything like my crew has implied, we could be setting us up for real danger.”

Xander’s eyes flickered between John and Howard. A moment of silence passed as a look of contemplation flashed across Howard’s face.

“Flight 112 is dealing with a similar problem. I think your ship is well equipped to handle this problem.” Howard concluded.

Xander furrowed his brows. “Howie, you said they’re dealing with a similar problem but you didn’t say it was resolved.” He pointed out. 

Howard nodded. “Yes because Flight 112 will be reporting back in two weeks once they reach mars orbit.” Xander gave the man a dumbfounded glare. 

“Why wouldn’t you just have them notify you once they caught the killer.” John refuted.

“Because they already have and it seems as if they’ll be able to complete their mission successfully.” Howard finally concluded. Xander let out a disgruntled sigh, the man definitely had a backwards way of giving information.

Finally Bob Morris spoke up. “Howard, why wasn’t our ship informed about this altercation?”

“This was not of Flight 113’s concern.” Howard’s eyes trained on Xander’s partner. “John, do you think your security can handle this problem?” 

“I already have teams surveying any potential leads.” John paused. “The problem is the leads are completely unprecedented. Unless one of the suspects cut off their thumb and had it scanned at the door, it could not have been the four civilians we found in the biodome.” 

“Do you have any other possible leads?” Morris interjected.

Xander cut in. “My teams are currently testing samples of blood found at the scene to see if there is a difference in typing, but that’s the only possible course of action given the extreme lack of evidence security was able to recover.” The room went silent for a moment.

“But you do have leads.” Howard pointed out. “In that case, you should be fine.”

Xander stood up, catching the attention of the room. “Normally I’d agree with you but we’re dealing with a completely untraceable killer. The only system we have to go off of while the security cams are down is the door logs, which they’ve somehow managed to bypass.” He shook his head. “We’re dealing with a genius madman that we have no idea how to even begin to catch.”

Wallace scrunched his mouth for a moment. “We’ve said multiple times that we have a skilled team of operatives onboard-”

John slammed his hand on the table. “It doesn’t matter how skilled your operatives are if we have no evidence to go off of!” Xander reached out and placed his hand on John’s. They made brief eye contact before the bearded man unclenched his jaw and returned to pacing the room. 

“MacNamara, I understand your concerns but this call isn’t ultimately yours to make.” Morris spoke, his voice level. “And my call is to reconvene with a decision when we reach lunar orbit. That gives us a day to reassess the situation.”

The tension in the room only dropped a fraction. 

“Any opposed?” Morris continued. The room remained silent. “Then it’s settled. We will reconvene tomorrow. Meeting adjourned.” 

John nodded towards Morris and Howard and left the room. Xander mirrored the action and hurried after him.

John's face was unreadable. Xander pursed his lips for a moment before speaking up. "John, I know this seems like an impossible situation but we'll get out of it one way or another." 

His husband nodded, staring blankly ahead. "We've already lost four civilians. Granted, most of them aren't necessarily innocent souls but that's still four people I was personally responsible to protect." He shook his head as the two turned a corner.

Xander found himself momentarily at a loss for words. “Nobody blames you-”

John’s head whipped around. “Xander, I am the head of security. I’m the only person to blame.” 

Xander shook his head. “We can’t spend our energy focusing on petty things like blame right now. It’s nobody’s fault but the killer’s.” 

The pair went quiet. 

The two eventually reached their quarters and stopped at the door. Xander flashed his ID in front of the sensor and scanned his thumb. The door slid open and the two silently entered. John walked into their bedroom

Their quarters were relatively simplistic. It directly opened to a sitting room with an attached, open concept kitchen. A bathroom was tucked into the corner of the sitting room. Besides the bathroom was a hallway leading to the pairs’ offices and their bedroom. It was sparsely decorated with an overarching blue theme. 

Xander sat on a chair tucked into the corner going through the events of the day in his head. Nothing was adding up to a conclusion that made sense. It was almost as if the perpetrator didn’t exist, as if they were simply a ghost haunting the ship. The part that terrified Xander the most was their ability to slip by all security systems, and now that they couldn’t rely on cameras…

His thought process was halted by a chime on his tablet. Across the screen flashed a message from his biology team. 

_ ‘Third party blood was found on Linda Monroe’s body, tests run found below.’  _

Xander clicked on the data link, a second tab opened.

_ Blood Type:  _ _ Inconclusive _

_ High levels of collagen _

_ Evidence of foreign cellular structures  _

_ More testing necessary  _

Xander furrowed his brow as he scrolled through the data, most of it meaningless given the fact that he studied theoretical physics, not this. He’d have to ask the biology department their thoughts after they ran more tests. For now, there wasn’t much Xander could do. His hand hovered over the forward button. The image of John staring at Linda Monroe’s body flashed through his head. He couldn’t shake the look of failure hidden in the back of his husband’s eyes. His finger hesitated for a moment more before he typed in John’s information. He sighed, standing up and began making his way to the bedroom, stopping in the open doorway of John’s office. 

He leaned against the frame, his eyes reading over the information pulled up on John’s screens. Xander watched as John opened yet another interview from the day before. He lingered for a little longer before tapping his knuckles against the door. “I’m heading to bed, I’ll probably be gone by the time you get up tomorrow so I can oversee the biology department’s tests.”

John’s eyes remained glued to the screen. “Okay.” His lips moved silently as he continued reading through the interviews. 

Xander bit the side of his cheek as he watched. He cleared his throat. “Did you get the copy of the initial lab data?” 

John nodded, still not turning his head. “I just got the notification.”

A minute passed as Xander continued standing in the doorway. “I’ll get you the proper analysis of the information as soon as it comes out tomorrow.” He stepped closer to his husband. “Promise me you’ll get some sleep later.”

John let out a huff, tearing his gaze away from the screens. “You know I can’t promise you anything Xan.” He smiled humorously. “I guess this is revenge for all the times I told you the same thing.”

Xander gave a dry laugh. “Touche.” He leaned over to his partners head and planted a small kiss. “Goodnight, John.”

A genuine smile crossed his husband’s face. “Goodnight,”

Xander turned around and made his way into their bedroom, collapsing onto the bed. He didn’t even change out of his work uniform before he passed out into a dreamless haze. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not overly proud of this chapter, but I felt like I needed to post something. Hope you enjoyed!


	8. Game Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is assigned a "guard" and decides not to sit and mope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maxon is Robert's PEIP soldier, he might come back in later chapters. TW some mention of the injuries Linda sustained and a blood mention, but this is a fairly light chapter.

Emma didn’t really know when the last time she slept was. She wasn’t sure if it was the stress of the recent events or the fear falling asleep, but she hadn’t even done so much as lay in bed for the past two days. Paul was under the impression that she had fallen asleep in the sitting room, yet here she sat in the pitch black room. Her vision sat unfocused at the wall, not really taking in anything. The room was silent asides from the incessant buzzing of electric appliances, she could also hear Paul shifting in his sleep in the next room. 

  


She took a deep breath and leaned her head back. Her eyes began to drift shut as her memory drifted to the first time she had met Paul. She had been working in that goddamn coffee shop, Beanies. Looking back, it wasn’t all that horrible. She wondered what her coworkers were doing now. Zoey was determined to go off and become a Broadway star. It was a stupid dream really, but part of Emma kind of hoped she succeeded.

  


Her head relaxed a little more. What was she thinking about? Right, Paul. No wait she was thinking about Zoey. Her thoughts grew foggier. She and Zoey weren’t close by any means, but Emma had grown fond of her younger coworker. She remembered the sad look in Zoey’s eyes when she told her about mission 113. Her sad green eyes, like Linda’s eyes. Linda’s cold dead eyes, her face eternally frozen in horror. Oh god-

  


She shot up from the chair. The electric buzzing seemed louder as she let out a long sigh. Her feet took her to the door, she was about to open it when she heard footsteps on the other side.

  


She froze.

  


A buzzer rang throughout their quarters, causing Emma to jump.

  


“Wha… What’s going on?” Paul’s voice mumbled from behind her. She whirled around to see Paul standing in his pajamas on the other side of the room, rubbing his face. He flicked on the light switch. 

  


The door buzzed again followed by an aggressive series of knocks. 

  


Emma let out a groan and pressed her thumb against their lock. The door slid open with a hiss. Outside was a man in a military uniform, standing with his arms behind his back. A pair of sunglasses were perched on his face. His dark, curly hair was covered mostly by a barret. 

  


“Emma Perkins, I have been assigned to be your escort.” He began to step into the threshold, Emma put up a hand.

  


She squinted at the man. “My… escort.”

  


The man nodded. “Given your encounter with Mrs. Monroe, it’s been determined that you should be observed.” He cleared his throat as he backed out into the hall. “For your safety.”

  


A single humorless laugh escaped Emma’s mouth. “So what your saying is I’m a suspect.”

  


He pursed his lips. “I said no such thing.”

  


“It’s implied.” 

  


They stood in silence, watching each other. Emma could feel Paul watching nervously behind the pair.

  


“I feel like we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. My name is Maxon, you can call me Max. I will be protecting you until further notice.” He made another movement to enter.

  


Emma stepped in front of Max, blocking him. “Yeah, no thanks.”

  


“You are misunderstanding me. Either you let me in or you will be placed in a holding cell.” 

  


She heard Paul shuffle behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Of course sir, come on in.” He pulled on Emma’s shoulder, not enough to move her but enough for her to get the idea. She reluctantly backed away from the doorway and returned to her chair, shooting her partner an annoyed glare. 

  


Max stepped inside, the door closing behind him. Paul made his way to a chair, gesturing for their so-called guest to sit. The officer made no attempt at the seat, instead he stood with his eyes trained on Emma. She stared back, her face squinting at the man. Her left hand absentmindedly rubbed her thumb as the two faced off.

  


Paul was leaning against the hallway to their bedroom, watching the pair. He eventually cleared his throat “So uh… do you like cards?”

  


Max tilted his head, his gaze shifting away from Emma. “I haven’t actually used real cards before.”

  


Emma stared at him, dumbfounded. “I’m sorry, what?”

  


“I mean I’ve used hologram sets-”

  


“Cards are  _ timeless _ !” Emma sputtered, her façade completely broken. “That’s it, I don’t care if you're spying on me or not, we’re playing.” 

  


She began shuffling through the shelves in their seating room, searching for the novelty deck Paul  _ had _ to get back when they were still on Earth. 

  


“Bottom shelf.” Paul inputted. Surely enough, there was a deck of cards with a series of eyes painted onto the pack. Paul had told her it was in reference to a favorite childhood movie, but honestly the faded artwork just creeped Emma out. She turned around, waving the deck in the direction of her company.

  


“We should go to Tom’s, the kids love BS.” She suggested. Max opened his mouth but Emma interrupted before he could even form words. “Oh relax. You’ll still be watching me, just from a different location.” 

  


She walked through the door before the officer could even protest. 

  
  


~~~

  
  


“Two sixes.” Lex set down two cards into the pile. 

  


Emma stared down at her own hand, she couldn’t dispute it. Out of the corner of her vision, she noticed Paul shift awkwardly. She met his gaze, raising a brow. 

  


“Hey, what’s this?” Lex glanced between the pair. “No- no! None of whatever this is!” 

  


“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Emma crossed her arms. She stifled down a laugh as Lex’s eyes grew wide. Beside her, Hannah was snickering into her hand. 

  


“You’re communicating! That’s against the rules!” Lex shook her head. On the other side of the teen, Ethan sat with a confused look. 

  


“We didn’t say anything.” Paul interjected.

  


“You didn’t have to, she gave you a look!”

  


Emma gave a smirk. “Got something to hide Lex?” Ethan’s face finally registered understanding. 

  


“No, I put down two sixes!” 

  


“I dunno, seems fishy to me.” Ethan interjected, shooting Emma and Paul a grin.

  


Becky nodded along from beside Paul. “I think Emma bluffs enough to catch a lie.”

  


The entire table stared at the massive pile in the middle of the table. It was more than half the deck, it was certainly a risky move. The players exchanged glances, waiting for somebody else to make the move. 

  


“BS!” Paul finally called, turning over the top cards. Sure enough there were two sixes. “No!” 

  


Lex leaped up. “Ha!” Paul rolled his eyes as she placed down a singular card. “One ace.”

  


Paul hesitated, going through his now massive hand of cards. Emma’s eyes flickered through her own hand. He nodded after a few seconds and placed down a group of cards. “Two twos.”

  


Emma raised a brow, but decided that it was entirely possible. She only had four cards left, she could win this if she played smart... 

  


She set down four cards. “Four threes.”

  


“BS!” Max pitched in almost immediately. Emma groaned as she picked the cards back up. So much for playing it smart. At least she only gained one card from her shitty move. 

  


Max cheerily placed down two cards. “Two aces.” The room grew silent as they waited for someone to call a bluff. Nobody made a move.

  


Lex placed another card onto the pile. “One two.” Again, Emma had two twos, but couldn’t necessarily call her out. 

  


The group once again studied each other for a moment until Hannah placed down three cards. “Three threes.” 

  


Becky placed a card down before anybody could even process what Hannah had said. “One four.” 

  


Tim placed another pair of cards on top. “Two fives.”

  


Ethan placed another card on top. “One six.”

  


Paul placed four of his cards onto the deck. “Four sevens.” Emma bit her lip as she looked at her cards. The problem was that Paul rarely bluffed and nobody was making a move to call him out. 

  


Emma scrunched her lips and placed her cards down. “Three eights.” She heard Ethan make a squeak from beside Paul. “You really want to risk it, Green?” She eyed the group, a daring smirk plastered on her face. She was lying of course, and from the looks of it someone forgot they had placed their eights in the pile earlier. She looked down at the last cards in her hand: a two of diamonds, and a two of spades. A plan began forming in her head. 

  


Max pursed his lips, looking down at his last card and back at Emma. She could feel the gears churning in his head. She waited for him to call out her lie, but he simply placed down his last card. “One nine.”

  


“Bull-fucking-shit!” Emma called.

  


“Language!” Becky called from the opposite side of the table.

  


Emma waved her hand in an apology as she flipped over the top card to reveal a seven. She gave out a whoop as Max groaned. He scooped the deck up. “That’s for earlier!” She called.

  


His eyes scanned over the deck as he mumbled unintelligibly. His face lit up with exasperated annoyance. “I knew you were bluffing!” He exclaimed, throwing his head back, letting out another long groan. 

  


“When is she not?” Paul said as he elbowed her.

  


Emma shot Paul a grin. “Stop giving away my secrets.” She turned to Max. “Then why didn’t you call it?” Emma teased as she looked through her cards. 

  


“Because I was about to win!” Max gaped.

  


“You always call out the last play. Nobody ever plays the right cards when they’re about to win.” Emma rolled her eyes. “Because you didn’t say anything, I beat your ass and now I’m gonna win.” She said with a shit-eating smirk. 

  


“Can I call BS on that?” Lex said, raising her brow and waving the one card left in her hand. Hannah giggled beside her. 

  


“That’s bold of you there, Lex.” Emma grinned. “Especially since it’s coming from the mouth of a loser.”

  


“I wouldn’t be so confident, just saying.” Lex put her hands up in front of her. 

  


Emma let out a defiant chuckle as she pulled a card out of her hand. She glanced at Paul, making sure he met her eyes. She looked away quickly as soon as they made contact. She let out a subtle sigh as she placed one down. “One ace.”

  


Paul studied her for a moment, flickering his eyes across his cards. “Given the fact that I literally have three aces, I’m gonna have to call BS.” He said, taking the bait.

  


Emma flipped over the card, revealing the two of diamonds. Max gave a mocking laugh, Emma just rolled her eyes. She forced down a grin as she returned the card to her deck, watching as Paul picked cards out of his hand.

  


“Three aces.” 

  


Emma barely gave him time to breathe before she stood up, slamming her last cards down onto the pile. “Two twos.” She laced her fingers and stretched her arms in front of her. “And I’m out, good game y’all.”

  


“Alright then, BS!” Max declared. 

  


Emma’s grin grew wider. She flipped over the cards and Max groaned, smacking his face against the table. “Shoulda called me out when you had the chance Maxi,” She patted his shoulder. “I couldn’t have won without you bud.”

  


She began to pack up her cards when she noticed her tablet light up with a notification.

  


_ 1 Message from: Henry Hidgens _

  


_ Emma! I need you in the lab, I have made a fascinating discovery surrounding our research yesterday. _

  


Emma looked around the room, her smile fading slightly. Hannah was laughing with Tim beside her. Tom had finally joined the group, placing a kiss on Becky’s forehead. Lex and Ethan were talking with Max, who had a grin from ear to ear. And then there was Paul.

  


Paul was the only man she had  _ truly _ ever loved. Scratch that, he was the only  _ person  _ she had ever unconditionally loved.Out of all the partners and one-night-stands she had in Guatemala, it was some dorky man from the hometown she hated who she was hopelessly in love with. And now he stood picking up the deck of cards with her in the midst of a series of murders. Dark eyes flashed through her mind, Linda’s face frozen forever in terror, Lex’s shriek, Hannah with tears streaming down her face. Paul’s horrified look when she had come home, covered in blood. 

  


_ They’re sitting ducks.  _

  


She grimaced as she pushed the thought aside. She shut down the tablet and set it down on the table, finding herself in the Houston’s small kitchen. 

  


She closed her eyes and held her breath. She heard a series of small footsteps as she let out a long sigh.

  


“Bad thoughts?” A voice perked up beside her. 

  


She opened her eyes, Hannah was now sitting on the same counter her elbows were leaning on. “Yeah…” She glanced away from Hannah, shaking her head. “Those are some things you shouldn’t have ever had to see.”

  


The two sat in silence for a moment. The noise of the gathering seemed so far away. Emma watched as the girl tapped her flannel sleeves against her lips. “Do you have bad thoughts, Hannah?” Emma finally asked.

  


Hannah tilted her head and furrowed her brows. “I do,” She contemplated for a moment. “Not like yours.”

  


Emma absentmindedly rubbed her thumb as she watched glimpses of the gathering in the other room. “If you ever need to talk…” Her voice trailed off as her vision unfocused into the vague distance. 

  


“Lexi doesn’t.” Hannah added, bringing Emma back. “Not like us, anyway.”

  


A hint of confusion flashed across Emma’s face. Linda’s face crossed her mind again. She made a mental note to check on Lex later. The teen had a streak of keeping her feelings away from her little sister. “That’s good,”

  


Hannah nodded. “Good for all of us.” She paused, “We’ll all be okay for now.”

  


“I sure hope so.” 

  


Hannah tapped her fists together as she kicked her legs. Emma gave a slight smirk, the girl had definitely been hanging around Paul. She gave a sharp inhale, but Hannah began to speak before the words could even leave Emma’s mouth. “Webby said we have time to stop it before it hurts us.” 

  


Emma’s breath hitched. “Who’s Webby?”

  


“A friend.”

  


“A friend?” Emma had heard about Hannah's past imaginary friends, but she wasn't aware of any of them named Webby.

  


“She’s a lot of things. Sometimes she’s a spider, sometimes she’s a girl, and sometimes she’s just a voice.”

  


Something about that made Emma’s stomach drop. “Does… she know who will be next?”

  


“No,” She scrunched her face. “Webby says we’re in the eye of the storm.”

  


“There will be more?”

  


“Many. So many. Webby can’t tell how many, she just knows how it acts.” Hannah’s eyes glazed over. Emma slowly placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, keeping it there when she leaned into it.

  


Emma hesitated before asking. “It?”

  


“The imposter.”

  


Emma nodded, unsure what to think. “I won’t let it take any of us, I promise.”

  


Hannah scanned Emma’s face for a moment. “Webby agrees.” With that, Hannah jumped off the counter to rejoin the gathering, leaving Emma alone with her thoughts.

  


She watched the girl leave, her mind racing. Imposter, that’s how the girl had described the killer. Dark eyes flashed through her mind, Linda’s face frozen forever in terror, the hole tunneled straight through her forehead. It was almost too perfectly executed, almost as if the killer were simply disguised as human. She didn’t want to think of the implications.

  


She decided she'd mention it to Hidgens tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy to announce I've redownloaded tumblr, you can find me at GSAnonymous! Come bully me if you want.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading!


End file.
